Bush presses Iraq case in radio address

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (CNN) --President Bush stressed the need for action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Saturday in his weekly radio address.

He said the United Nations has a unique opportunity to pressure Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to obey its resolutions on eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

"By supporting terrorist groups, repressing its own people and pursuing weapons of mass destruction in defiance of a decade of U.N. resolutions, Saddam Hussein's regime has proven itself a grave and gathering danger," Bush said.

"To assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of millions and the peace of the world in a reckless gamble. And this is a risk we must not take," he said.

Bush challenged the United Nations to take steps to deal with Saddam Hussein's disregard for U.N. resolutions.

"Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purposes of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" he asked.

Bush said he looks forward to congressional hearings next week on the Iraqi issue.

"Congress must make it unmistakably clear that when it comes to confronting the growing danger posed by Iraq's efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction, the status quo is totally unacceptable," he said.

Bush warned the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that if Iraq didn't honor the resolutions within weeks, the United States could act.